We’re in the interim between CEO 2024 and Evo and the winner of the former, FLY|Punk, is currently in South Korea practicing with the likes of Falcons|NL.
During a recent stream, Punk compiled a new tier list for Street Fighter 6 in which he explained to NL where he feels each and every one of the game’s characters rank. Interestingly, his first place pick was none other than Russian wrestler Zangief.
Zangief has rarely been regarded as top tier across his many appearances in Street Fighter games, and the first year of Street Fighter 6 was no exception. Though he’s capable of massive damage, the grappler’s weaknesses have seemed to outweigh his strengths as relatively large hurt boxes and slow speed restrict what he’s able to accomplish.
With so many fans noting how underwhelming he was in Season 1, Capcom gave the original grappler a ton of buffs in the latest SF6 patch. There’s no question the character has climbed up the tier charts, but to go from around the bottom third to being top dog is still hard to swallow for many.
Punk notes how Gief is now able to make the most of his opportunities since the damage he threatens with via strike or grab is comparable. What’s more, even blocking against the wrestler is ill-advised because of how much chip damage he does to the defender’s Drive Gauge.
Indeed, while he didn’t place him at the very top of the roster, 2018 Capcom Cup winner RB|Gachikun recently released his own tier list and does rank Zangief in the top five.
Punk also offers his thoughts on the brand new M. Bison as well as the relatively new Akuma, claiming that the demonic character is better than the evil dictator.
You can view the full Naver VOD (skip to the 5:50 mark for the beginning of the tier discussion) to hear Punk’s reasonings behind each of his placements. Let us know in the comments if you agree with his thoughts in the comments after you watch.
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